As in past years, I was participating as a helper in the media-chef culinary competition, this time with chef Jay Gust of TAPAteria. Gust still holds a respected hat-trick during his time at the Ritz Grill, when he won this CRA event each year between 2005 and 2007.

My photos and notes below are limited to what I was able to nab before and after my cooking and pantry-runner duties, but I've at least got the deets on the wining dishes and a small taste of the larger affair.

CRA Pikes Peak Chapter board member Dave Brackett of Pizzeria Rustica and TAPAteria notes a "record crowd" this year. Before the hordes started filing through the doors, McCabe's Tavern's Greg Howard told me that pre-sale tickets were up by several hundred.